Commission seeks views on research partnership in the Mediterranean

The European Commission has opened a public consultation on the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA). Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “Research cooperation in the Mediterranean region exemplifies the EU commitment to being open to the world, and to our immediate neighbourhood in particular. We are consulting and gathering views on how to work together on global challenges and ensure the sustainable provision of vital resources – water and food – in the Mediterranean basin.” The public-public partnership under the EU research funding programme Horizon 2020 was proposed in December 2014 by a group of EU Member States. The participating countries have already committed a total of €200 million to this proposed initiative over a 10-year period starting in 2018. On the EU side, this includes contributions by Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Seven non-EU countries are taking part in PRIMA: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. Germany, Israel and Romania have also shown interest in joining the initiative. The consultation runs until 24 April. A full news article is available online.